James Ellison

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. James Ellison (May 4, 1910 - December 23, 1993) was an American actor, born James Ellison Smith in Guthrie Center, Iowa, son of Edward James Smith and Ona Mary Ellis. Ellison appeared in nearly seventy films between 1932 and 1962. Ellison worked for a time in a film laboratory and while there was offered a screen test. He developed it himself and when he saw it, decided it was not satisfactory so he would not show it to the director. But he saw it anyway and Ellison got a contract. Despite his rugged good looks and height of 6 feet 3 inches, Ellison's limited range and somewhat wooden screen presence kept him from the first (or even second) ranks of stardom. He spent much of his career in Westerns, including a stint in the mid-thirties as the sidekick of Hopalong Cassidy in Paramount's successful series. In 1938, he played a charming, romantic character opposite 26 year old Lucille Ball in the comedy, "Next Time I Marry", a film where Ball had her first top billing on screen credits. Before that, in 1936, he played his highest-profile role, as Buffalo Bill in Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman, which also starred Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. Despite that film's success, Ellison spent most of the remainder of his career shuttling between cowboy pictures and more varied roles, primarily in B movies with titles like Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case and The Undying Monster. He had a supporting role in 1941's Charley's Aunt (which starred Jack Benny) and played the romantic lead in 1943's The Gang's All Here, a Twentieth Century Fox musical in which he seemed somewhat lost among the vivid antics of Carmen Miranda, Charlotte Greenwood, and Edward Everett Horton (and was the only principal not to sing a note). He also co-starred with Tom Conway and Frances Dee in Val Lewton's production of I Walked with a Zombie, directed by Jacques Tourneur. Ellison landed another romantic lead role as 'Jerry Gibson' in the musical film Lady, Let's Dance (1944) which starred ice skating sensation 'Belita'. In the early 1950s, Ellison moved from acting to real estate. Joining fellow veteran Jackie Coogan, Ellison returned to the screen only once to play Axel 'Longhorn' Gates in a picture called When the Girls Take Over (1962). James Ellison died at age 83 in Monterey, California after suffering a broken neck as the result of a fall. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Ellison (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For: Acting

Born: Guthrie Center, Iowa, USA, 1910-05-04

Died: 1993-12-23

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1932	Play Girl	Elmer	52
2	1932	The Famous Ferguson Case	Reporter Lane (uncredited)	60
3	1935	Buried Loot	Detective (uncredited)	60
4	1935	The Winning Ticket	Jimmy	35
5	1935	Reckless	Dale Every	53
6	1935	Hop-a-long Cassidy	Johnny Nelson	60
7	1935	The Eagle's Brood	Johnny Nelson	50
8	1935	Bar 20 Rides Again	Johnny Nelson	60
9	1935	Hitch Hike Lady	Jimmy Peyton	68
10	1936	The Leathernecks Have Landed	Mac MacDonald	50
11	1936	Heart of the West	Johnny Nelson	45
12	1936	Call of the Prairie	Johnny Nelson	50
13	1936	Three on the Trail	Johnny Nelson	50
14	1936	The Plainsman	William "Buffalo Bill" Cody	63
15	1936	Trail Dust	Johnny Nelson	40
16	1937	Borderland	Johnny Nelson	0
17	1937	23 1/2 Hours Leave	Sgt. Robert Gray	0
18	1937	Annapolis Salute	William J. "Bill" Martin	60
19	1937	The Barrier	Lt. Burrell	0
20	1938	Vivacious Lady	Keith	68
21	1938	Mother Carey's Chickens	Ralph Thurston	52
22	1938	Next Time I Marry	Anthony J. Anthony	68
23	1939	Almost a Gentleman	Dan Preston	60
24	1939	Zenobia	Jeff Carter	46
25	1939	Sorority House	Bill Loomis	68
26	1939	Hotel for Women	Jeff Buchanan	60
27	1939	Fifth Avenue Girl	Mike	70
28	1940	You Can't Fool Your Wife	Andrew Hinklin	45
29	1940	Anne of Windy Poplars	Tony Pringle	58
30	1941	Play Girl	Thomas Elwood Dice	63
31	1941	They Met in Argentina	Tim Kelly	30
32	1941	Charley's Aunt	Jack Chesney	58
33	1941	Ice-Capades	Bob Clemens	54
34	1941	Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case	P. Cadwallader Jones	60
35	1942	Careful, Soft Shoulders	Thomas Aldrich	60
36	1942	That Other Woman	Henry Summers	55
37	1942	The Undying Monster	Robert Curtis	57
38	1942	Army Surgeon	Capt. James Mason	58
39	1943	Dixie Dugan	Roger Hudson	50
40	1943	I Walked with a Zombie	Wesley Rand	68
41	1943	Best Foot Forward	Cadet	60
42	1943	The Gang's All Here	Andy Mason	58
43	1944	Lady, Let's Dance	Jerry Gibson	50
44	1944	Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore	Mike Burke	60
45	1945	Hollywood and Vine	Larry Winters	40
46	1946	G.I. War Brides	Steve Giles	0
47	1947	Calendar Girl	Steve Adams	54
48	1947	The Ghost Goes Wild	Monte Crandall	50
49	1948	Last of the Wild Horses	Duke Barnum	26
50	1950	Hostile Country	Shamrock Ellison	20
51	1950	Everybody's Dancin'	Jimmy Ellison	0
52	1950	Marshal of Heldorado	Shamrock Ellison	30
53	1950	Colorado Ranger	Shamrock Kid	43
54	1950	West of the Brazos	Shamrock Ellison	35
55	1950	Crooked River	Shamrock Ellison	30
56	1950	Fast on the Draw	Shamrock Ellison	0
57	1950	I Killed Geronimo	Capt. Jeff Packard	0
58	1950	The Texan Meets Calamity Jane	Gordon Hastings	0
59	1951	Kentucky Jubilee	Jeff Benson	50
60	1951	Oklahoma Justice	Clancy	0
61	1951	Whistling Hills	Sheriff Dave Holland	0
62	1951	Texas Lawmen	Sheriff Tod Merrick	0
63	1952	Texas City	Jim Kirby (as Jimmy Ellison)	63
64	1952	Man from the Black Hills	Jim Fallon	0
65	1952	Dead Man's Trail	Dan Winslow	0
66	1962	When the Girls Take Over	Alex 'Longhorn' Gates (as Jimmy Ellison)	32

No.

Year

Title

Role

Vote Average

1932